Practice Statement:

Large and/or complex projects may require the use of specific processes established to enhance safety and to coordinate buried-facility damage-prevention efforts among all potentially affected stakeholders throughout the life of the project. Such processes are intended to compliment, and be used in addition to, standard and customary one call notification and locating practices.²⁵

Practice Description:

A “large/complex” project is a single project or a series of repetitive, small, related-scope, short-term projects that impact facilities over a long period of time or over a large area. Such projects pose a unique set of safety and damage prevention challenges when using standard one call practices, specifically as they apply to ongoing locating and re-marking requirements. These unique challenges can be addressed by the establishment of special processes, including (but not limited to) the following:

• A method for identifying such projects
• Preplanning and design coordination
• Increased one call center involvement
• A formalized communication process among all affected stakeholders
• Project-specific marking agreements that address variance scenarios
• Regularly scheduled meetings of, and on-going communication among, all involved stakeholders
• Positive response

The purposes for establishing such processes are to enhance safety and to optimize the utilization of locating resources on large/complex projects.

References:

• Georgia Utility Protection Center (GAUPC) and Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act (GUFPA)
• Pennsylvania One Call and Pennsylvania Underground Utility Line Protection Act